I Love Handmade

Royal Botanical Gardens

Yes, I know I haven't updated my blog in a long long time. I just didn't feel like doing any crafts. But I do have many cooking and baking recipes to share. But first, I'd like to share these photos of today's day trip to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens. 

 

 

There are about 4 separate gardens altogether. We only had energy for 3 gardens. When I arrived, I took out my camera and immediately realized I have yet downloaded all 200+ pics of the weekend at Niagara Falls a couple of weeks ago - which means there was`t much memory left. I was so pissed at myself. I ended up buying a good old fashioned disposable camera. You remember those with actual film inside? I had to turn a wheel to take the next picture!

 

 

Pun's Birthday

Today is my brother-in-law, Pun's birthday. So, I'd like to give a shout out to him wishing him a wonderful year ahead. He wanted a PS3, but I got him slippers instead. We had a great family dinner together, then we went back to my parent's home and ate a very yummy green tea red bean cake. Here's a card I made for him. (Please see photo album for our family pics.)

 

And also today is my co-worker's last day before her maternity leave. It will be her second child. I made her this card. The background is dry embossed with the Dots cuttlebug folder. The baby bottle is a die cut from Quickutz and I used a punch from Friskar and used a frilly ribbon to hide the seam. The last step was adding an eyelet in each corner. I thought they pull together all the other elements nicely.

Civic long weekend

It had been a hectic a long weekend. The past Monday was Civic holiday. This weekend was supposed to be a trip to a cottage for my fellowship group from church, but we couldn't find a suitable and available place. So, we actually went treetop trekking on Saturday and had a barbeque gathering on Sunday. The treetop trekking was more difficult than I had imagined. But it was really fun to go as a group because you rely on the person before to give you tips on how to pass a certain "game" and after you pass the "game", you would then help the person after you. And then, there were parts of the course that seemed really scary, but after I passed it, I had a great sense of accomplishment. After 3 hours, it was time to go plus it was raining cats and dogs.

After that, my DH and I and another friend went to my sis' place for dinner. The food was delicious. I was very happy to spend time with my family and enjoyed a perfect meal. I didn't actually get to bed until late that night. Then, on Sunday after worship, my DH and I had to run around to prepare for that night's dinner, plus our own personal errands. I was exhausted by the time we got to our friend's house. I felt like I had a heat stroke and I was so hungry since I didn't have a proper lunch. I was so tired by that point I had no energy to socialize, even though I really wanted to. Then, Monday comes, and we went grocery shopping and had dinner with hubby's family. Then, Tuesday to Thursday were tough days at work. All I can say is "Urgh!!!!" Thank God for Friday! Yah!

Wedding Anniversary

Almost two months ago, my DH and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. (Btw, DH stands for darling husband.) The year went by so quickly. Both of us adjusted to married life very smoothly and we survived without having any major fights. But I did learn more things about my DH, things like he thinks that Crest toothpaste taste like vomit and he cooks surprisingly well. Thank God for his culinary skills! I, on the other hand, feel like a fish out of water in the kitchen. But I do love to watch Food Network and learn cooking techniques, but just not the actual implementation part. So, for our anniversary, one of my BFFs made this amazing cross-stitch piece.

You see, it's also from Tatty Teddy. She had ordered the pattern and materials from the UK. The finished piece looks amazing - the pics don't do it justice. She also ironed on several Swaroski crystals for the BLING factor. I thought it was gorgeous and I know it took her a lot of time and effort.

She and her husband also gifted us a really nice scrapbooking album. It was a pre-made scrapbook, so all I had to do was pluck down my wedding pics. I love that too! In our appreciation, I made them this card using another Elzybells stamp using one of my favourite patterned paper.

The charm in the front of the card is actually a pendant. The chain of the necklace lays on the inside of the card. So, it's like a 2-in-1 gift. Pretty neat, eh? I actually got this idea from a birthday card that this friend gave me a long time ago. The image on the card was actually a magnet, which you could yank out and stick it on your fridge.

The Elzybell image is coloured using Copic markers which allow you to blend colours seamlessly. Then, it is framed by a scalloped die cut from a gorgeous lavender vellum paper and pierced using a paper piercer. The bottom scallop border is also made from the same lavender vellum paper. The scallops are achieved using a paper rounder punch. The ribbon`s colour matches the card perfectly with a sage trim. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink and I added two eyelets to draw more attention to the small sentiment.The hole on the inside of the card was done using a nestability die. The flowers are from Prima with some bling in the middle. Last, but not least, lots of love were used in this card.

Tatty Teddy

Here's an e-card sent from my sister. Isn't it lovely?  It was so sweet of her. I love anything Tatty Teddy. Do you know there is a story behind the blue-nosed bear? In the beginning, the bear was loved by a child and the child carried the bear everywhere he went, but as time passes, the bear got dirty and worn out. So, the child's parent had it thrown away. The bear ended up in the landfill, forgotten and lonely. The air was so cold at night that the bear's nose turned blue. Until one day, a little girl came across the tatty old bear and she picked it up, washed it and loved it as if it were new. From then on, the girl and the bear were best friends ever since.